Advocates for pit bulls must grow tired of seeing headlines such as "3-Year-Old Mauled by Pit Bulls in Longview," which appeared in the Tyler Paper last week.

They know it means another round of explaining to friends and others how sweet their dogs are, really, and how any dog can bite, and how it must be an irresponsible owner, as it can't be the breed.

They'll have to reiterate their belief dogs are a blank slate, and no pit bull is born bad -- at least, no worse than, say, a golden retriever.

But seriously; when is the last time you read an article about how a toddler was mauled, nearly to death, playing with a litter of golden retriever puppies?

"The child sustained dog bites all over her body, and had serious injuries to her face and head," reported Longview Police Department spokesman Kevin Brownlee.

He said the mother of the child told investigators she was at the residence visiting with a friend and allowed the daughter to go in the backyard without supervision. She added her daughter had been around the dogs before.

The dogs -- four of them -- were 3-month-old puppies.

The mother now could face charges for felony child endangerment. The little girl faces a lifetime of scars, both visible and unseen.

How many more children and adults will we allow to be mauled, even killed, before we recognize pit bulls aren't goldens or labs or poodles -- that they're bred specifically to maim and kill?

It's time for Texas to take the first steps toward a statewide pit bull ban. That first step is to repeal a law that doesn't allow breed-specific bans. Florida is already considering such a measure.

Last year, a tragedy in Rusk County -- lest we forget, it was the mauling death of a 10-year-old boy -- led to a petition drive for a less-stringent response: Registration and education requirements for pit bull owners. That was opposed by advocates for this killer breed.

Other tragedies have sparked other, lesser responses, as well - such as attempts at citywide or countywide bans. But because of the state law, those bans have been struck down.

But it's time to think bigger. It's time to address a danger we know exists. It's time to at least allow cities and counties to adopt their own bans.

Will those bans be difficult to implement? Perhaps. Opponents of a pit bull ban point out many "pit bulls" are actually mixed breed dogs. And they claim enforcing bans would require "DNA testing."

Nonsense. That's where an expert -- such as an animal control officer -- can make a judgment call on what is and what isn't a pit bull. It's hard to mistake that crushing jaw.

Will pit bull advocates challenge such bans? Sure. That's their right. But that shouldn't prevent the Legislature from repealing its law preventing cities and counties from deciding on their own whether to try such bans. It's a simple matter of local control.

In the meantime, we're sure to see more tragic headlines. And we're sure to hear the same old arguments about how sweet Rex is -- or was, until the attack.